Grnad Island native to race in NYC Marathon

Island native
LeighAnn Martinez is a Kessler Foundation employee who is sponsored
to be one of 200 hundred disabled people to participate in the New
York City Marathon.

Martinez will us
an adapted hand cycle specially designed for individuals with
disabilities to use their arms to maneuver the controls. The marathon
is Nov. 4.

Martinez grew up
her entire teenage years on Grand Island. After graduation from GIHS
in 1994, she attended Erie Community College and became a licensed
massage therapist. Shortly after starting her new career, Martinez
tragically became paralyzed by a freak accident. One evening, she and
a friend of hers were having fun playing around, and at one point he
tried to lift her onto his shoulders. He lost his balance and
accidentally dropped Martinez. She fell no more than a few feet, but
as soon as she landed, Martinez knew something was terribly wrong.
Her friend quickly called 911 and Martinez was brought to a local
emergency room where she was diagnosed as having a complete spinal
cord injury at the T-10 level - the middle of the chest -
rendering her unable to move or feel her legs.

This was a very
sad time for Martinez and for her family. After being diagnosed, she
went to the Kessler Institute to learn how to adapt as a paraplegic.
She worked extremely hard and tried to stay focused on the positive
side of life. Due to her extreme motivation, perseverance, and
positive attitude, Martinez was hired on at the Kessler Foundation as
a research assistant.

Due to her hard
work and dedication to her employers and patients, Martinez received
in December 2008, from the New Jersey Rehabilitation Association the
Tony Rocco Award, given annually to an individual with a disability
who has overcome significant barriers to become successfully
employed. In addition, the individual is someone who has improved the
quality of his/her own life and the life of others through
determination, self-motivation and an overall optimistic attitude.
This individual also supports the purpose and efforts of the
rehabilitation system and can act as a role model to others. Martinez
possesses all of these qualities.

On Feb. 3,
Martinez was one of the four chosen out of 10,000 people who were
nominated for the Human Spirit Award. Each year, Kessler Institute
presents the Human Spirit Award to the person or persons who have
made an outstanding contribution to the independence and employment
of people with disabilities.

Martinez also
graduated this September from the University of Phoenix with her
bachelor's degree in psychology and will be pursuing her master's
degree in social work starting this upcoming January.

She is a cherished
team member at Kessler Institute Foundation and is both an
inspiration and a role model to everyone she meets. Martinez has the
attitude that everyone has the ability to do something that they can
enjoy, whether it is work, or finding new personal goals to achieve,
and that you can live a good life. She believes that people with
disabilities are not a separate part of America, but rather intricate
threads in the fabric of American life.

And as Martinez
states, "Kessler Foundation has given me the satisfaction of
working every day with women and men who, like me, and are rebuilding
their lives after injury or illness. Most important, my work
contributes to research studies that improve the quality of life for
people with disabilities. And remember that your life is not over, it
has just changed. It is up to that individual to make every moment
count, and to thrive on things that you can do."

To donate to
Martinez's effort to participate in the New York City Marathon,
email http://Give.kesslerfoundation.org/martineznyc2012;
or mail to: Executive Hill Corporate Park, 300 Executive Drive Suite
70, West Orange, N.J. 07052-3390; or call 973-324-8362.

All proceeds go to
helping raise money to fund research for people with disabilities
such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and stroke. She
has reached 50 percent of her goal so far of $20,000.